Pros: Coworkers are approachable and knowledgeable. Optiver does not require 80+ hrs/week of work for devs like some HFTs do.

Cons: For me, I did not want to work in HFT.

Pros: Compensation and growth opportunities, along with many responsibilities, are provided to juniors.

Cons: Intense culture, with less than optimal work-life balance.

Pros: - Intelligent and humble coworkers - Great pay - Engineers are promoted and paid based on merit. There is transparency regarding levels (junior, senior status, etc.), and your guess is likely correct about where others are. - With everything in technology and trading constantly changing, there is much room for growth and taking on new responsibilities, even immediately after starting. - Everything is solid, including culture in general, 401k, massages, breakfast, lunch, snacks, five weeks of vacation shortly after starting (which everyone actually takes), and yearly company trips. - Useless meetings are cut short or cut out; there is little opportunity for being bored. - Team leads aren’t simply middle managers; they’ve excelled at the role they are leading. - Expectations are extremely consistent: focus on clean, simple solutions, own the stack, and grasp the feedback loop of development.

Cons: - Making significant changes that affect trading can be stressful, though this is largely mitigated by frequent releases and having a plan if your solution is broken.